Sam's Choice
by Acelover
Summary: When Sam has to make a very hard decision between two horses she loves, she's stumped. She loves her horse, but what about Flame? She also has to make other decisions that are hard involving Jake, the Phantom, Jen, etc. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi This is my second PS fanfic...and I hope it's better than Juniper Breeze! That was kind of like practice for me, I don't know if I'll still update it or not. This story I'm making it more about the horses rather than Sam and Jake romance. That doesn't mean I won't have Jake in the story a lot, he's one of my favorte characters :-D. And I might have them do something in the middle or toward the end..;)**

**Okay here is Sam's Choice. **

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"Woohoo! Go Ace! That's a good horse!" 

Ace stood contently in the middle of the arena, flicking his black pointed ears toward his applausing audience, oblivious to the fact that a little happy girl was standing on top of his back.

Samantha Forster sat perched on the top rail of the fence across the other side of the arena. She wore her usual red tank top and white shorts, sipping her ice cold Dr. pepper. Usually Gram wouldn't let her have soda, but since today was so hot and she was in such a good mood, she let Sam slide.

Sam smiled as her pal, Jake Ely, lifted Tiffany gently off her horse's bay back. Clapping her hands and grinning ear to ear, the 5 year old girl was kind of cute. With her black hair twisted in two braids, jeans, boots and a cowboy hat, Tiffany looked just like a little mini cowgirl.

Just last Summer, Amelia's grandmother gave Sam a call asking if Ace could be sold to them for three thousand dollars as a therapy horse to a program for disabled kids. After seeing a picture of Ace rearing, his hooves just inches away from a little girl's head, on the front page of her newspaper, Amelia's grandmother called Sam back telling her she thought Ace would be way too dangerous and that she didn't want him anymore.

As happy as she was that her horse wasn't going to be sold, Sam's dad, Wyatt, and her stepmother, Brynna, were appalled that someone would call their daughter's horse too dangerous to be around little kids. They just never really showed they cared until, of course, Spring Break.

Ace gave a tiny buck of joy, happy at all the attention he was getting. Sam, Wyatt, Brynna, Gram, and Jake all held their breath until Tiffany let out a squeal of delight and started clapping her hands.

"Wow, I can't believe how good Ace was!" Brynna said, as all of them, except for Sam, walked toward the center of the arena.

"Couldn't believe it either, 'til that last part," Wyatt said, chuckling.

"Yeah," Gram agreed. "Ace really is a good horse. He just needs a little bit more improvement, don't you, boy?" She scratched the gelding's forehead. As if he was telling her he agreed, Ace bobbed his head up and down, revealing his white star, which was usually hidden underneath his shaggy black mane.

"Well, Jake, I have to say, you have done wonders with this horse right here," Wyatt spoke, giving Ace a pat on the shoulder.

Jake shrugged. "It's only Ace."

Wyatt laughed. "I know son I was joking," He said, grabbing money from his pocket. "Here ya go," He said, handing Jake twenty dollars. He turned and looked at Ace. "This horse has been through a lot, the good and the bad. Treats Sam like his own. Though I have to say, all of us were very impressed when Tiffany was standing on his back. He didn't even know what was going on," Wyatt said, shaking his head and chuckling.

"And we are all very grateful that you were willing to do this," Gram said, smiling and shaking Jake's hand. Jake nodded and said, "No problem."

"BOO!"

Sam gasped and almost fell off the rail at the sound of Jen's voice.

"Oh my god, don't do that to me ever again!" Sam said, putting her hand on he heart. "You scared me half to death!"

Jen laughed as she jumped up onto the rail and sat beside Sam.

"You know, that's something Jake would do," Sam pointed out to her friend.

Jen grinned and pushed back her glasses. "Yeah well, I rode over here, tied Silly to the hitching post, and you still didn't notice me. I guess I found it the right time to be silly myself!"

Sam and Jen both laughed.

"So...I was thinking maybe if you'd wanna go for a ride? It's a really nice day," Jen said, readjusting her pink shorts.

Sam agreed. "Sure, in a minute. Hey Jake!" Sam shouted, waving her hands. He nodded and didn't even look up. Grabbing Ace's reins lazily from off the ground and walking over to her and Jen, Jake obviously knew what she wanted before she could even say anything else.

Jake and Sam had been friendly enemies ever since they were Tiffany's age. Maybe even younger than that. Now, he knew her way too well.

Jake walked up, leading Ace, wearing his lazy tomcat grin. Sam sighed and rolled her eyes. _Here he goes,_ Sam thought.

"Here's your horse."

"Thanks," Sam snapped, snatching the reins.

Sam and Jen both looked at each other when Jake just stood there looking at Sam with his eyebrows slightly raised.

"Um..what?" Jen asked slowly.

"Nothin," Jake said, still staring at Sam like he was expecting her to say something.

What did he want her to say? She had already said thanks. Wasn't that enough?

Suddenly, Sam knew what she had to do.

Sam jumped off the rail, making Jake step back a few steps. Jen watched in amusement.

Sam sighed. "Sorry. I know that you've been coming here every day after school to make Ace better around kids, when you also have chores, homework, and your horse to worry about too," Sam said, her hands perched on her hips. She took them off when she realized she looked bratty.

"And I've been acting like a total...," Sam paused, searching for the right word. "A total brat, as you would call it."

Sam looked at the end of the arena from the corner of her eye, watching her dad. She hoped she had been loud enough so he could hear what she was saying. These past few days, Dad had gotten mad at her for being too mean to Jake, and he told her to to "grow up", or else he would have to double her chores.

Finally when dad looked their way, Sam took a deep breath. Stepping closer, Sam wrapped her arms around Jake and hugged him. She could have sworn she heard Jen gasp in surprise. After that, she definitely heard giggles coming from her friend.

_Is this even worth it? This is like... kind of awkward, _Sam thought. _Yes, it is. I'm only doing this so I don't have to do those stupid extra chores._

Jake stepped away, pushing Sam back.

"Brat, what you said was enough!" Jake exclaimed, walking away from her. As he shuffled off, Sam saw his head shake and he looked back at her, rolling his eyes.

Sam turned so fast, her auburn hair went everywhere. She glared at her dad, who was now standing closer to her, laughing and looking proud.

Sam clenched her fists together. This had been going on for weeks and she couldn't take it any longer.

"Arghhhh! Dad! How come people always think _I'm _the one who's making everything worse, when really, it's someone else? Like maybe _Jake_? Huh? Oh, but I bet you could _never _imagine _Jake _being mean or doing something wrong, because everyone thinks "Oh, Jake is sooo mature and soo responsible", but Dad, I'm sorry to be the one to break it to you and the whole world, but he's NOT!"

Angry, Sam turned around and stormed out of the arena, slamming the gate behind her.

_Oh no I forgot Ace_, Sam remembered. Reluctantly, Sam slowly opened the gate when she bumped into Jen. Gladly, she was holding Ace's reins and by the look of her face, she looked like she was holding in a huge laugh.

Sam shook her head. "Oh, hey Jen. Look, I really don't know what that was about, okay?" Sam said. "I've just been getting so fed up with my dad and Jake lately I couldn't stand it any longer! Ughh," Sam groaned, running her hand through her auburn hair.

Jen led Ace out of the arena and closed the gate. "Sam, it's okay," She said, laughing. "I actually found it to be quite amusing."

Sam smiled. Jen was a really good friend. She knew how to cheer her up better than anyone else.

"So...now that that little episode is over..do you still feel up to riding?" Jen asked hopefully.

Sam nodded. "Yep. In fact, I think I _need _to get away from this place for a little while. At least away from some certain people," Sam said, glancing at dad and Jake who were on the porch, talking to Brynna and Gram. Tiffany had already left.

"Well then, let's get your horse groomed and," Jen broke off, examining him, "tack him up in a _bigger _saddle."

Sam laughed and tilted her head back to take a better look at her horse. "You know..why don't we just ride bareback? We haven't done that in a while," Sam said, stroking Ace's neck.

"And that sounds like loads of fun." Jen handed Sam Ace's reins and untied Silly from the hitching post. Silly bobbed her head up and down and stomped her foot hard on the ground, anxious to get moving.

Sam and Jen had slowed down to a walk by the time they got to the lake. Their horses' necks were sweaty and breathing hard from miles of racing across the playa.

Sam kept Ace reined in as he sipped from the cool water. Her horse was smart, and she hadn't forgotten the time when he went into the middle of the lake and refused to come out. And that's when Jake had "accidentally" roped her which then made her come crashing down into the lake, which was totally embarrassing.

Sam shook the thought away.

Jen and Silly were on the other side. Jen looked kind of like she was struggling to keep Silly where she was too. But Sam knew her best friend was a much better rider than her. She probably wouldn't have a problem.

"Hey, what day is it again? Wednesday or Thursday?" Jen asked.

It was Thursday. Wasn't it? No, Wednesday.

"I'm pretty sure it's Wednesday," Sam said, still not sure.

Jen nodded slowly. "Oh. That means we have..two and a half days to complete that book report for english class."

_Oh yeah, _Sam thought. _the book report. Shoot, I haven't even started it yet. I've been so busy watching Ace's lessons. _

"Great. Jen, have you started yours yet?" Sam asked, hoping she hadn't.

Jen nodded. "Yep. Why? Have you?" Jen asked, looking at her with a "You better have" look.

"umm...no," Sam said, making an innocent look.

"Samantha Ann Forster!" Jen exclaimed. "What would your dad say about that? And aren't you the expert in english class? The one who always gets A's? What's been up?"

Sam shrugged. "I guess I've just been a little paranoid. I mean, my parents chose Jake to teach Ace to be gentle instead of _me, _and I've been watching Jake and seeing if he does anything bad. I mean, I know he wouldn't, but I don't know-"

Jen broke her off. "How come you're so mad at Jake lately?" She asked. "I mean, I know you guys fight all the time, but still, I've never seen you actually this fed up with him."

Sam rolled her yes. She didn't feel like talking about it.

"Come on, Jen. We should probably go so I can start on that stupid report," Sam said, moving Ace out of the lake. Reluctantly, the gelding obeyed and his legs splashed out one by one.

Jen agreed and both of them were walking side by side when they reached the highway. Suddenly, a familiar beige cadillac pulled over to them and the driver rolled down his window. Jen flashed Sam a look, who was focused on the window going down, muttering bad things under her breath.

Linc Slocum was a person who no one enjoyed being around. Unfortunately, his neighbors had no choice but to be neighborly and see him almost every day.

"Jen," Linc nodded. "Miss Forster," Linc said, grinning his commercial tooth smile. Forcing a fake smile, Sam tried not to grimace at his nickname for her.

"Hey Mr. Slocum," Sam said politely. But Linc didn't seem to be listening to her. Instead, his eyes were focused on Ace.

"Samantha, you know my niece Tiffany, right? Young, black hair..in fact, she was just at your ranch having her lesson on your horse here," Linc said, nodding at Ace. When he let out his hand, letting him sniff it, Ace snorted and backed away cautiously. Sam bent down toward her horse's ears and whispered,"You're a smart boy." Of course, she said it quietly enough so Linc couldn't hear.

Jen spoke up. "Yeah, I remember her.." Jen looked at Sam, who was still talking to Ace.

"Hey Sam! You remember Tiffany, Linc's niece, don't you?"

Sam looked up right away and suddenly remembered. "Oh yeah, that little girl? Funny..I never knew she was your niece." Really, she didn't. Like usual, she had been the last to know.

Linc nodded. "Well, now you know. Anyway, my niece told me how good Ace is. She goes on and on about the lessons and, heh, get this," Linc said, shifting impatiently in his seat. "She even told me that your horse is her favorite horse in the whole gosh darn world," He said, chuckling. He looked Ace over again and raised an eyebrow.

"Guess it doesn't take a lot to make a little one so darn happy," Linc said, shaking his head.

Sam frowned. Ace _was _a great horse. He was one of her favorite horses in the world, too. Why was that so funny to him? _And, _Sam thought, _He just dissed my horse. How dare he. _

Jen noticed Sam's red face and the anger building up inside of her.

"Okay, Linc, go on," Jen demanded, looking at Sam sympathetically.

Right then, A horse's sharp neigh rang through the air. Sam was pretty sure it wasn't that far away, and she could hear the sound of hooves loping toward them. Suddenly letting her eyes focus, Sam just realized how dark it had gotten.

Linc cleared his throat. "Well you know how darling Tiffany is. Err...She's turning six on Saturday, and you know what that means. Party!" Linc said cheerfully, waving his hands up in the air.

Jen and Sam looked at each other with their eyebrows slightly raised. Linc was just weird sometimes.

"She's having it over at her house in Reno and she said, so dearly, 'Uncle Linc, may Ace please be used at my party for giving my friends pony rides?' Linc said, looking at Sam and holding his breath.

Sam hesitated. "Err..pony rides?" She echoed.

Linc was mean to her horse just a few minutes ago. He was responsible for the Phantom's scar, when his hunting dogs got loose, his horse being badly treated, and, Sam thought, Linc Slocum was the most ignorant and selfish, childish western wannabe man Sam and everybody else had probably ever _met. _Why would she _ever _do a favor as big as that for him? Especially when Ace was involved? And the fact that he just laughed in her horse's face and thought he was good for nothing? And now he expected her to say yes to letting Ace come to Reno with him and his niece and let him be a little "party pony"?

Linc Slocum would have had to do something totally and unexpectedly _nice _right this moment to get her to say yes, because right now, Sam was positive _nothing _and _no one _could make her say yes.

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**How was it? Review and please tell me what I can do to make it better or what you liked about it thanks! I'll probably update next on saturday or sunday. :)**  



	2. Chapter 2

"But Dad!" Sam whined, pacing around the kitchen table in frustration. "Why do I have to do that stupid favor for Linc?"

Dad closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he didn't say anything, Brynna spoke up.

"Sam, don't you think this will be the perfect opportunity to see if Ace behaves well?"

"But Ace _already _behaves well!" Sam said, throwing her hands up to the air. They came back down and she perched them on her hips. "I just don't see why this is such a big deal. You guys never really payed attention to him until now."

"I know, and We're really sorry," Brynna said as she glanced at dad. "We're doing this because we care about Ace and we don't want people to get hurt. If he doesn't behave well around kids, someone could get hurt, just like that little girl almost did."

Dad sat up straighter in his chair.

"What B said is correct. The other thing, is it's the neighborly thing to do. Now, I know that Linc Slocum is not the nicest person, but no matter how mean people are, it's always important to treat them how you would want to be treated," Dad said.

Sam sighed and shook her head. Why had she told them about this?

"How much is Linc offering?" Brynna asked.

Sam hesitated before opening her mouth.

"Four hundred dollars."

Dad and Brynna gasped in amazement.

"Four hundred dollars?" Dad echoed. "I'm sorry Samantha but I'm afraid you'll have to call Linc right now and tell him that you are definitely going to do this."

Sam gave a "help me" look at Brynna, who nodded toward the phone. Sam sighed and dialed his number.

"Hello, Mr. Slocum?" Sam asked, her voice hesitant.

A big, loud voice boomed through the other end. "Well, hello miss Forster! Have you made up your mind about my favor? Please say you'll do it," Linc said.

Sam looked at dad one more time. "Uh, yeah, my mind is made up. The answer is yes. I will bring Ace to Reno for Tiffany's birthday party."

"Thank you so much! I'll be waiting," Linc said, his voice sounding merrier. "You have a good day now. See you on Saturday." He was about to hang up when Sam spoke up.

"Um, Linc? Sorry, but my dad wants to talk to you for a moment." Sam handed the phone to dad and rushed out the door, slamming it behind her.

"Ace," Sam yelled, running across the ranch to the ten acre pasture.

Sam kissed to him. He lifted his head, grass falling from his mouth, as he watched her approach out of breath.

"Hey boy," Sam crooned. "It's a nice morning, huh?" Sam said, stroking the bay's soft neck. She leaned down to whisper in his ear.

"I'm so sorry. I tried to convince them not to let you go, but then, there they went, talking about how I have to be neighborly. I mean, I know it's good to be, but with Linc? I don't find that necessary, do you boy?" Sam asked.

Like a big dog, Ace gave his whole body a shake. Sam waved her hand and coughed as dust flew up everywhere. Even though Sam knew he was just trying to shake off the dirt from his coat, it looked a lot like he was agreeing.

Sam glanced at her watch. It was 7:15. That meant she had 45 minutes to wolf down breakfast before school.

"Bye, my good horse," Sam said in a sing song voice, kissed Ace on the nose and sprinted to the house.

Mr. Welshkin was giving an incredibly long and boring lecture about talking during tests in 2nd period history class. Sam continued doing what she bad been doing for what seemed like forever. Glancing at the clock, then out the window, clock, window, Mr Welshkin, window, and so on.

Boy were teachers boring when they gave lectures.

No matter how hard Sam tried to pay attention, she always found herself looking somewhere else, daydreaming or thinking of Ace. Poor Ace.

_Riiiiiiiing. _Yes! Finally, the bell. Running out the door, Sam approached her locker and dialed the combination quickly. _Off to science, _Sam thought, grabbing her science book and strutting off to her next class of the day.

Sam and Jen were sitting at their usual spot at lunch, gulping down their lunches.

"Do you see Jake anywhere?" Sam asked, looking around.

Jen did the same. "No.. Why?"

"I need to ask him if he can give me a ride to Reno on Saturday. My parents told me to ask him since they can't."

"Oh," Jen said. She took another bite of her sandwhich then said, "Hey..isn't that him over there with his friends?"

Sam looked to where her friend was pointing. She nodded. "Yep. I hate to do this, but I'm going to have to break him apart from his group. He hates it when I do that," Sam said, then started walking over to where they were when Jen shouted back.

"I thought you were mad at him!"

Sam whirled around. "Oh shoot I totally forgot!"

Great. now what would she do? _It'll be okay, _she thought. _He's probably already forgotten about yesterday._

Looking down and holding her breath, Sam grabbed Jake by the sleeve and pulled him out of his group of friends. Jake was startled.

"Brat," Jake started, but Sam covered his mouth so she could talk fast.

"Dad and Brynna told me to ask you if you could drive me to Reno on Saturday. Tiffany is having her birthday party and told Linc she wanted Ace to give her friends "pony rides".

Jake hung his thumbs through his belt loops and looked down at the ground. He must have been thinking whether he was going to do it or not.

_Please say no, Jake. Please say you won't do it!_

Jake threw his head back up. "Pony rides?" Jake repeated. Sam could hear the laughter he was holding in.

"Yes, Jake. Pony rides," Sam snapped.

The corner of Jake's mouth rose up a little in what looked like the beginning of a smile. He looked around the campus, then back to Sam.

"I'll do it."

Sam groaned. "You're just doing it because you know I don't want to go!"

Jake shrugged. "Could be that," He said, grinning.

Sam rolled her eyes and began to walk off when Jake called back.

"So that's what you and Linc were talking about yesterday when you were with Jen."

Sam swung back around. How did he know that?

Jake read her expression and explained. "I was taking a ride on Witch and I sorta saw you guys talking to Linc, and that's when, uh, Witch got thirsty and I let her take a drink from the river," Jake said.

"Oh my gosh! You were eavesdropping! Witch wasn't thirsty you lousy liar!" Sam said, angry but talking quietly enough so other people couldn't hear their conversation.

Jake shook his head and waved a hand at her. "I gotta go. See ya after school," Jake said, and shuffled off to his friends. Sam stood their for a moment, processing everything.

So that's what she heard yesterday when Linc was babbling on about Ace. Sam sighed.

"She was not thirsty!"

"Um, what?" Jen asked, walking up to Sam.

"Nothing," Sam said. "Jake can drive me."

"Oh okay," Jen said. She took another sip of her chocolate milk. "I wish I could come, but I'm really busy all weekend. I kind of signed up to do this extra credit project thing for science," Jen groaned.

"It's okay," Sam said, walking back to their table. "You probably wouldn't want to go anyway. It might get ugly, you know, with Jake being there and all. I'm still mad at him."

"No surprise," Jen said, rolling her eyes and laughed as she and Sam finished their lunches and went on with the day.

Sam was sitting in the family room doing her algebra homework when the phone rang.

She went into the kitchen and looked at the caller ID. It said Kenworthy, Jed.

"Hey Jen," Sam chirped. "What's up?"

"Sam! Oh my gosh you will never guess what just happened!"

Sam was about to ask when the phone beeped.

"Hold on Jen I'm getting another call," Sam said, pressing the talk button. "Hello?"

"Hello, Sam? It's me, Ryan."


	3. Chapter 3

"Sam? Are you there?"

Sam blinked. "Yeah. Sorry, but can you make this quick? I've got another person on hold and also, i'm trying to finish my algebra."

"Okay," Ryan said. "Wait, who else are you talking to? Is it Jen?"

"Yeah.."

Ryan laughed nervously. "Okay then, well I probably won't be needing you now. But if you don't mind, could you tell me what she said?"

Sam never really knew Ryan to be a nosy person. And she was confused about this whole thing. Was there something she didn't know?

"Uh, Ryan, is there something you want her to say? I'm confused."

"You mean she didn't tell you already?" Ryan asked.

"Well, she was about to tell me something until you called."

"Oh. Well you can have her tell you. I need to go anyway. Bye," Ryan said, then quickly hung up.

Sam switched back to Jen.

"Hi! Sorry, that was Ryan," Sam apologized. "So, is there something you want to tell your best friend?" Sam smiled innocently even though no one could see.

There was a long silence before Jen said, "Sorry Sam I have to go, but I promise I'll tell you later!" Jen said, and with that, hung up.

Putting down the phone, Sam groaned. She hated waiting.

"And now to make matters worse, now I have to finish my algebra!" Sam stared down at the scattered papers before her, sighed, and went to work.

There was a single knock at the door.

"Coming!" Sam yelled, wondering who it could be. "What? No one's there-"

"Brat calm down I'm right here," Jake said. He stood to the right, leaning against the door.

Sam laughed."Oh! Well, geez Jake, you don't have to be practically hidden."

"So are you gonna let me in or what?"

"Oh, right," Sam said, wondering why this was so hard. Jake never just randomly came to the door unless he needed to.

"That one girl-whatever her name is-she's late." Leaning against the wall, Jake blew through his lips and watched the clock.

"You mean Tiffany?" Sam asked, opening up the fridge. The coolness inside made her feel good.

Jake nodded. "Been 15 minutes."

Sam snorted. "No surprise, since she's Linc's niece and all."

Jake flashed Sam a confused look.

"She's also living with Linc for a week," Sam added, then Jake shrugged, still unsure.

"Are you thirsty?" Sam asked.

"Naw, I'm fine."

Shaking her head at Jake's contentment, Sam snatched an ice cool Dr. Pepper and sat down, glancing at Jake every now and then. He wasn't the best at having decent, friendly conversations.

"Jake, Sam began, getting his attention.

"Yeah?" Jake said, walking over to the table, and when he studied each chair carefully like it was the hardest decision in the world, he sat down at the farthest chair from Sam.

"We're..we're like, still friends, right?" Sam asked, biting her lip so hard it felt like it was going to bleed.

Jake stared at her blankly for a second. "Why do you ask?"

Sam sighed. "Well, first of all, we never have actual normal conversations like normal friends do, and second of all, most of the time we don't get along."

Uncomfortable, Jake rubbed the back of his neck then said, "Look Sam, I don't know much about this stuff. Though honestly, I think we are. Just because we don't do what 'normal' friends do doesn't mean anything."

Although she had expected him to say some sort of a native american saying, like he usually did when he gave her advice, Jake kept quiet. Fidgeting, Sam wished she hadn't brought this up.

"I'm going outside." Clearing her throat, Sam got up and dashed out the door without another word.

"Wha-"

The door slammed before Jake could finish. A minute later, he opened the door and caught up with Sam.

"You should go home too," Sam said. She could feel her mind spinning in circles faster and faster and she didn't know why. Stopping, Sam looked up at Jake. "I don't think she's gonna show up today anyway. After all, Ace is my horse and you know me, I don't care darn well how he acts around younger kids. It's not like he's going to do the same thing to Tiffany as he did at that parade, and plus, I'd be sort of happy if he did cause then Linc wouldn't want to use him ever again-"

Jake's strong, cold hands grasped Sam's shoulders and shook them until Sam yelled for him to stop.

"You're blabbering," Jake yelled back.

"Well maybe that's because I'm nervous!" Sam snapped, looking up at him with harsh eyes. Slowly, Sam sat down on the lowest porch step with her head leaning against the rail, and when it became too hard to hold her tears in, she let them fall.

She didn't even try to stop crying when she heard Jake sit down too.

"I'm guessing this has to do with Ace."

Even though Jake spoke softly and quietly, It seemed like he had to force every single word out of his mouth.

All Sam could do was nod. She'd prefer it if he just went home now, instead of having to listen to her mope, but Jake's tone made it clear that he wasn't going to leave any time soon.

"It'll be fine. What's the worst that can happen?" Jake asked. "I'll be with ya, brat. If he runs away or something, that's when my roping skills will come in handy."

All the time while Sam was listening to Jake try to cheer her up, she wondered to herself why she was so nervous. She knew it wasn't just because of Ace going to Reno for stinkin pony rides. Something else was making her feel scared. She just couldn't put her finger on it.

"-Your Gram."

Sniffing, Sam looked up and saw Gram's car crossing the bridge. Sam stood up, quickly wiping away her tears and making sure it hadn't looked like she had been crying. "Jake, go home."

Nodding, Jake started toward Witch. He turned around and pointed his finger at Sam.

"I don't know what's up with you brat, but you surely are actin' different," He said, and then turned back around and left.

Puzzled, Sam stood there still watching Jake as Gram huddled onto the porch with two heavy bags of groceries.

"Sam, would you please get the other two bags out from the trunk and bring them inside, instead of just standing out here? It would be a big help."

"Sorry, right away," Sam said, then went to the car and heaved the bags of groceries inside the air conditioned house where it felt good.

"So how was Tiffany's lesson?" Gram asked, putting milk inside the refridgerator.

"She didn't show up," Sam said. Gram's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Oh, well that's a shame," Gram said, washing her hands. "Why was Jake here then?"

Sam thought about what she should say. "Um..he and I were just talking. Hanging out. You know, what friends usually do?"

Gram looked from amused to skeptical.

"I would imagine you and Jen doing that, not you and Jake."

Rolling her eyes, Sam put the last of the groceries away and closed the fridge. "Well anyway, I'm going outside to groom Ace. See ya." Sam waved, then shot out the door, strutting toward her horse.

Normally, Ace would be calling to her by now, with grass dangling from his mouth. But now, the bay stood still, gazing intently toward the wild side of the river. The only sound he made was a quiet nicker, and Sam could see his whole body tremble.

"What is it, boy?" Sam whispered toward the gelding. His eyes stayed fixed on whatever it was that remained invisible to Sam.

Carefully stepping closer, she tried to follow Ace's gaze and saw nothing, until a branch shook from what seemed like probably a horse.

Sam's spirit rose. Maybe it was the phantom, taking a drink from the cool and refreshing La Charla river, while his band patiently waited far behind. But the only thing wrong with that was, it was rare for him to come this close to the ranch in pure daylight.

Suddenly, out of the rustling pinion pines, appeared a lanky tobiano with a white mane that fell down into his big, dark eyes. Completely ignoring both human and horse, the paint slowly lowered his head to drink like he had done it all his life.

Why hadn't she ever seen him before? Sam wondered, walking as slow as she could, her mouth open in amazement as the gelding lifted a foreleg and playfully splashed the water. Then, he backed away, swinging his head from side to side, and this time crashed into the river with all four legs.

As soon as Sam let out a fit of giggles, she covered her mouth, regretting she ever did.

Don't bolt, Sam thought, trying to send out the message telepathically. When the fiesty tobiano lifted his head and stared at her, standing still as a statue, it seemed like it had almost worked.

"Hi, big guy," Sam crooned, carefully walking closer and closer, eyes still on the gelding, until she was almost to the river. He didn't budge.


	4. AN

**Sorry I forgot to put my author's note on the last chapter :-D**

**Sorry for not updating Sam's Choice in a long time. I've been real busy and i have had some writer's block. And I'm also sorry for ending the last chapter in a weird way it's just I didn't have time to write the rest..the next chapter will be here soon! Hope you like Chapter 3. **

**-Taylor**


	5. Chapter 4

To Sam's surprise, he moved closer.

Now, Sam could reach out and touch him if she tried. But she didn't want to spook him.

It was very possible the gelding was domesticated. Clean, calm, not scared by humans. Sam wondered who he belonged to and why he was out here.

Oh, well, if this horse was domesticated then he wouldn't get spooked if she pet him , right? This time Sam confidently put her hand up to the horse and slowly stroked his neck. She talked to him softly, hypnotized by her hand and the pattern on his neck. Nothing made sound except for the running river and rowdy pasture horses playing.

"Sam!"

Startled, Sam quickly looked up from her daze and looked around to see who was there. The call sounded like Jake's voice, but why would he still be here?

Finally her eyes landed on Jake and Witch, on the other side of the river. So he was going to his house. That made a little more sense...

While Sam was still processing those facts, she noticed the horse was still there. This horse _was _domesticated.

"How long have you been watching?" Sam asked.

"The whole time." Jake was now closer to her and the horse.

"Okay," Sam said, confused. "Why?"

"The other day, I was groomin' Witch when I saw this horse drink from the river. What was strange about that was my brothers were over there too. So when they realized the horse was domesticated, Adam walked up and the horse bucked at him and almost knocked him down."

Sam stared at the horse again. Nothing about him seemed dangerous. It didn't look like he was going to buck anytime soon.

"Maybe Adam walked up too fast and spooked him."

"Sam, even if he did, domesticated horses usually don't try to harm someone unless..their former owner abused them."

"I know," Sam snapped. What Jake said was right, but then why didn't the horse act mean when she walked up to him? Moving quickly, Sam walked right up the the horse, waving her hands like bird.

"Sam what are you doing-"

Rolling his eyes, the horse backed away one or two steps and stopped. Then, looking sideways at Sam like she was crazy, lowered his head to drink out of the river. He swished his tail.

Sam met Jake's eyes. Brows furrowed, he signaled Witch to move closer to him. Snorting, the paint sidestepped and half-reared, unmistakably scared. Offended, Witch tried to do the same but Jake kept her under control. Sam looked at the paint who was now almost at the end of the river, taking sips from the water but still had his eyes pinned on Jake.

Jake intently studied the paint for one more second, then looked at Sam and shook his head. "I don't know."

"Don't know what?"

"Go up to him one more time," Jake ordered, not answering her question.

"Okay," Sam said, then, once again, walked up the the horse. He looked up, and then lowered his head to drink as quickly as he had looked at her. as if trying to get flies away, parts of his patterned body quivered, but that was all he did besides drink.

Why was she the only person he wasn't scared of?

Suddenly, coming from the hills, something sounded like thunder. But Sam knew what it really was. Shooting down like the king he was, the Phantom dashed down and through branches that were in his way, heading straight toward them. The paint neighed loudly, and without her realizing it, Sam's face muscles had tightened from the sharp scream. Then, reminding her of a dog, he jumped in place, not sure of where to go. Answering that question, the Phantom ran past and nipped his rump, leaving him no choice but to follow. Which he did.

Sam watched in amazement as the two ran up the hill and, finally, out of sight.

The sound of a horse walking away made Sam turn around to see Jake leaving. She would have let him if he had answered her question.

"Wait," Sam yelled.

Quicker than she expected, Jake turned Witch around. She forgot how good cow horses were skilled at that. "Yeah?"

"What were you going to say before?"

It took a moment for Jake to respond. When he did, his voice sounded unsure.

"I was saying I don't know why that horse likes you so much."

And with that, he turned Witch back around and left.

Why did the horse like her so much? Sam thought. But that was the last thing she should be worrying about. Why was the horse in the wild instead of with it's owner? And if his owner abused him, then maybe he escaped somehow.

"Sorry Ace, looks like you'll have to wait for your ride." Ace stared at her longingly from the pasture as Sam jogged to the house.

Good. Sipping water and tapping away at the keys to her laptop, Brynna sat at the kitchen table focused intently on whatever she was looking at.

Sam cleared her throat. "Um, Brynna?"

Sam waited for her step mom to acknowledge her with a nod before continuing.

"We might be wrong, but this is what Jake and I think." Sam waited for Brynna to eye her again. "There's a paint gelding on the loose, and we think he might have..escaped."

When that got her attention, Brynna stood up, closed her laptop, and put it gently on the counter. Then, still paying attention, she dumped the vegetables out from a bowl Gram had set up and started chopping them up.

"Go on," She ordered.

Sam had to pause to think about how she should say the next part. "He only appears to like me," Sam said, cringing at how self-centered that sounded. "We don't know why. And we're thinking that his former owner abused him because he acts like a demon around other people. But one thing is for sure; that horse is definitely not wild."

Wiping her hands off on a towel, Brynna nodded in understanding then said, "I'll call BLM right away."

As Sam watched her pregnant step mom head up the stairs, she felt a twinge of sadness. But she knew she shouldn't. The paint would surely find another happy place to live. And he would get good training on how to trust people again.

She hoped.


	6. The Party

The next morning was Saturday. Which meant Sam had an hour to get ready for the drive to Reno. Throwing on a t-shirt and jeans, then going downstairs to pull on her boots and grabbing a cinnamon roll Gram had left out for her, Sam got ready faster than she thought she would. With ten minutes to kill, Sam went outside to talk to Ace, who was as close to the fence as he could get, looking at her with hope that she had treats in her pocket.

"Sorry boy, not right now," Sam said, pulling herself up onto the top rail and scratching the gelding's ears. He bobbed his head in delight.

That was funny, Sam thought. She could have sworn she heard the sound of gravel crunching under a truck's tires, and when she turned her head away from her horse to see, she was right.

Even though it was usual for Jake to be early, she hadn't really expected him to be today, considering the fact that it was dad's idea for him to drive her. Sam shrugged, then hopped off the rail and headed to Jake's truck.

Jake was talking even before Sam opened the door.

"- going to get Ace out?"

"Huh?" Sam said, then looked over at Ace and realized what he meant. "Oh, I almost forgot."

Sam got Ace out and loaded him into the trailer easily.

"Linc said there will already be tack there," Sam said, climbing back into the truck.

"Good."

About fifteen minutes had past when Sam was looking out the window and saw the paint gelding. He was where Sam usually saw him, which was drinking from the river. When he faded out from sight, Sam turned around to look at him again for the last remaining seconds.

"I hope Brynna has called BLM already." Nervous, Sam shifted in her seat.

Jake quickly side glanced at her then stared ahead at the road. "He'll be there soon."

Sam wasn't so sure. "How do you know?"

Jake flashed her a look of annoyance. "'Cause every time you don't want them to go there, they end up there sooner than you want them to. But if you say you do want them there, you think it's taking slower. I know you well enough to know that in the back of your mind, you really want him to stay."

Sam shook her head in denial. Even though that was true, she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of being right all the time.

An hour had passed. Sam was dreading each time they got closer. Ace had never given pony rides before. What if he wasn't ready, and he reared and injured a kid, or worse?

Worried, Sam began shifting in her seat. Knowing her, Jake could tell she was nervous, especially since she was fidgeting so much.

"We're here."

"Really? That was fast."

They both got out and unloaded Ace. Sam looked around, trying to find a place to tie him up, when Linc barged out the door to greet them.

"Hey! We're all outside. Follow me."

Sam led Ace around the house to the huge backyard. She met Jake's eyes. She could tell he was a little worried too.

"Yay! Ace is here!"

"Oh no," Jake muttered under his breath, and Sam nudged him with her arm.

"Hi everyone, this is Ace." Sam said, trying to sound patient. "Now don't come running up to him because.."

Too late. A group of about twelve girls and a few boys sprinted across the yard, waving their hands and screaming with excitement. Way too much excitement. Tiffany was in front, leading them.

This time it was Sam's turn to whine. Sucking in a breath, She leaned toward Jake and squeaked, "Not good."

The only thing Sam thought of doing, besides yelling at everyone to stop, was to back about...a hundred yards away.

"Hurry Ace!" She said. Eyes on the fence, her back turned, Sam was running as fast as she could. She just wished Ace would pick up his speed from like the slowest jog in the world.

"Sam!"

To Sam's surprise, Jake had caught up with her. He was running beside her. Then, he stood right in front of her and Ace and held out his arms for them to stop.

Tired from running so fast, Sam stopped right in front of Jake and bent down to catch her breath.

"They stopped a while ago, brat."

Before she could wipe the smirk off his face, Jake snatched Ace's lead rope from her sore hands and walked off.

Sam hadn't really had time to be embarrassed, but now she was. When she turned around and saw Linc staring at her with an expression that looked like a mixture of anger and confusion, she felt her face heat up with a blush. Then her gaze turned to Jake who was tying her horse up to a hitching post, looking annoyed. Sam sighed, and then looked down at the kids. Fortunately their full attention was on Ace.

After a moment, Sam shrugged off the weird moment and walked over to Jake.

"I hope everything goes well. I just wanna get out of here as soon as possible."

Cinching up the saddle, Jake focused on what he was doing. It was clear he wasn't planning on chatting, especially when Sam saw his set jaw.

Sam sighed and folded her arms. He wasn't the only one who was stubborn.

A few seconds later, Jake finished tacking Ace up. Sam and him looked over to see Linc heading their way.

"This might be a while. Might give you a headache, too," Linc said, breaking the silence. "If you want, you guys could walk about Reno and explore while I take care of everything 'till it's over."

Sam was about to say no but Jake spoke sooner.

"Good idea. Sam, let's go."

Sam gasped in disbelief.

"You aren't-"

Sam forgot Linc was still standing there. "Excuse us," she said.

Sam grabbed Jake's sleeve and dragged him away. "Why did you say that? We can't just leave Ace with Linc Slocum! You've seen what he does to his own horse!"

"Sam, I know, but do you really think he's gonna do that to Ace? At least he has horses and knows how to handle them."

"But why can't we just stay here?" Sam asked.

"Because," Jake said, then paused to look around. "I need to talk to you."

Sam opened her mouth to talk, but nothing came out. She looked down.

"Okay." Then, maybe because Jake never had to talk to her, she went out to the front yard with him without hesitation. Something told her this was important.


End file.
